Place at bid table

TOWNSVILLE now has a seat at the table to negotiate a greater role for the northern city in the 2032 Olympics bid.

Townsville City Council has voted to enter into a Delivery Partner Guarantee Deed with the state government, which will commit the council to providing support, in the form of public services and venues, to the government’s Olympics bid.

It has already been revealed that the Olympics bid will be a joint Queensland deal with the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast already announced as key event areas.

It is expected regional areas like Townsville and the Whitsundays could also be included in the bid in some capacity.

While Mayor Jenny Hill could not reveal the details, she said this would ensure Townsville had a seat at the table for Olympics discussions.

It is unclear exactly what the city’s involvement could look like.

“The premier, to her credit, is insisting that if they’re going to have the Olympics in

Queensland (it has to be) all of Queensland, not just the southeast corner,” Cr Hill said.

She said because of this, the regions would not miss out on infrastructure money.

The state government has already announced it will invest in a significant revamp of the Gabba and the federal government has committed to help fund infrastructure.

But the Mayor is not the only Townsville leader pushing for the city to get a slice of the Olympics.

Federal Herbert MP Phillip Thompson has already made it clear to his counterparts that Townsville would not miss out in this Olympics bid.

“We are a sporting city … and there is no way I’m going to let the southeast corner snaffle all of this funding up.”

Mr Thompson said he expected some infrastructure would be built in Townsville.

“That’s what we’d be grateful for, and not just (for the) jobs, but also (for the) economy and getting those athletes out here playing footy in our stadium, playing basketball here.”